Toby and Allan in Greece and Prague: Prehistoric City of Akrotiri and Glorious Sunset

Saturday April 1 (no fools in Santorini) looked ominous but turned into a glorious sunny day by noon. High of 16C and blue, blue sky. We picked up some treats and had a coffee at the Cretan bakery and then headed to the bus station in Fira. We caught the 11:15 local bus to Akrotiri to visit the renowned archaeological site.

The local buses are touring buses (like Greyhound buses) and for two euros we had a 45 minute bus ride to Akrotiri, which is located in the south west corner of the island. It stopped a few times in other towns and beaches along the way. A great way to see the island. We arrived in Akrotiri at about noon. The bus stop was just across from the archaeological site we were going to visit.

Direction to site as we got off the bus

Evidence of the prehistoric city of Akrotiri first came to light in the second half of the 19th century. However, systematic excavations began much later in 1967 under the direction of Spyridon Marinatos (1901-1974), a Greek archaeologist, and excavations have been taking place since that time. About only 3% of the settlement has been uncovered to date. The city dates back to the final quarter of the 17th century BC, when its inhabitants abandoned it due to powerful earthquakes and an enormous volcanic eruption that followed. The volcanic material that covered the city provided excellent protection for the buildings and their contents. The settlement was approximately 20 hectares. It was a highly developed city with sophisticated city planning, multi-storey buildings adorned by superb frescos, rich furnishing and household effects. Some call it "the Pompei of the Aegean" and others "the lost city of Atlantis". It is an amazing site and we are thankful to a pharmacist who told us this was not to be missed.

The site is enclosed and there is a walkway through the site with lots of signage. The building had its roof replaced in 2012 and a new bioclimatic shelter was designed to reflect the climate of the island in the Prehistoric settlement.

Outside of the archaeological site

Inside the site with walkway shown on the right

Showing height of some of the buildings- some were three stories high

View of buildings

Storeroom area for pithos (large storage containers)

Triangular square with buildings

Showing walls and windows

Wall detail

One of the amazing features of the buildings were the incredible wall paintings. They have all been removed and placed in museums. There were pictures in the information displays. Very beautiful and intricate designs.

Pictures of the wall paintings. We saw the fisherman's image around town.

What an amazing archaeological site. We heard later in the day that Spyridon Marinatos, the archaeologist, who died in 1974, was buried there, at his request.

Springtime in Akrotiri

Beautiful spring wildflowers

Great sign

We walked down to the beach just below the archaeological site and passed an amazing church built right into the rocks.

Small beach in Akrotiri

Spectacular location for a church

We then headed to the Red Beach. It is so named as all the rocks are red. There is a risk of landslides and there are signs which warn people not to go down to the beach.

En route to the beach

View of red beach and rocks

View of the beach

We then went for a late lunch at The Cave of Nikolas Tavern on the small beach we had first passed. It has a wonderful back story that was written up at the front of the menu. Nikolas, a fisherman, built a cave on the beach which sheltered him and his boat. His wife Efstathia was a wonderful cook and Nikolas made wine. Spiros Marinatos, the head of the archaeological project in Akrotiri, suggested that Nikolas make his shelter into a small tavern with good traditional food for his workers. In 1981, ownership of the taverna went to their daughter Margarita who had learned to cook from her mother. The food was exceptionally good. We ate outside, but the room in the cave was very neat.

The Cave of Nikolas Tavern

The inside of the Cave- great spot for a restaurant

We decided to have two of the Santorini food specialties-- fava beans (yellow split peas) with olive oil and garlic and white eggplants with garlic, lemon, parsley and olive oil. Both were very flavourful.

They brought us a dessert of yoghurt with spoon fruit of grapes.

Yummy!

We caught the bus back to Fira. A great way to see more of Santorini for just 2 euros. After wandering, we went for a glass of wine at our favourite bar with the view.

View just before the sun set

Pic from our favourite bar

View at sunset- lights going on

Can't get better than this

Perfect sunset over Nea Kameni (the volcanic island we visited)

After the gorgeous sunset, we went to a wonderful jewelry shop with all Greek artists and both Alain and I bought a piece of jewelry. We then went to Ouzeri, a recommended place, for dinner. It was their opening day and we had excellent food and service. I had taken the picture of the outside the day before, so that is why the sun is shining.